Taro T

Agree with this on a certain level. But on another level, would say Pegula should never have gone along with the plan (or should never have come up with the plan, if that was in fact the case). The model franchise for the tank, the Pens, particularly the mid-80's version nearly moved. The Pens were very bad and were a serious 3rd place behind the Stealers and the Pirates. (Heck, the Pitt Panthers probably had a bigger following than the Pens.) And even with Super Mario and Jagr and Stevens and Barrasso and Coffey and ... it still took several years to become that SC winning squad and bringing in Ron Francis and Trottier. Should never have tanked. But once the decision was made, AND the decision to do a slow rebuild (the point of getting all those tons of draft picks) was made yes they should've stuck with that piece of the plan (even if they did try to not rival the 70's Caps and early 80's Jets while being historically bad for a Sabres team). But once the decision was made to go for the rapid rebuild, they should've stuck with THAT and not jetisoned O'Reilly. But when the decision was made to recalibrate to having a stud C and a stud D and not a handful of stud Cs, they should've stuck with THAT. But when the decision was made to recalibrate to being on the Dahlin timeline, they should've had somebody that knew how to build a team stick with that one. Guess now we're onto another rapid rebuild phase again, or are we? Wtf knows? Lather, rinse, don't repeat but choose a different brand, lather, rinse, don't repeat but choose a different brand, and so on and so forth.

Yep. And honestly don't have a problem with Bryson being the guy in the press box while Johnson and Novikov continue to ripen. And wouldn't have a problem with some other 6/7 tweener being the guy in the press box while Johnson and Novikov continue to ripen. If he plays more than 15 games as the 6, have a problem with it. Otherwise, meh.

But with the Peterka rumblings, it seems everyone discussing moving him is doing so with the expectation that it ends up netting the best player in the deal (like all the thoughts on him being the big piece to get Robertson). It's not like the Byram rumblings where Byram is the best player out of the pieces being speculated upon. (Which, unless it is tied directly or inderectly to a Robertson-esque move is beyond frustrating.)

Especially if there is no changes in the coaching staff, really don't have a whole lot of confidence on the team getting improved as much as we all want to see. But, Peterka, Byram, and pieces becoming Robertson and a GOOD stay at home or 2 way D-man seems to be about the best we can be hoping for as the key moves at this point. Thing that stinks is for about the 3rd year in a row, it really wouldn't take many GOOD moves at all to get this team back into the dance which brings it back to relevancy. And, like you and pretty much everybody else here would like to see the rest of that list you brought up happen as well. But not sure Sabres fans get as many dolls as we want; pretty sure we're in the group that has to be happy with 1 or 2. And if we only get 1 or 2, want 1 of them to be Robertson.

IMHO this is close. Sadly expect the coaching roster to be what it is, and that is not good. And it will make it much harder to make the playoffs than it should be. But also expect Peterka and Byram out the door due to all the smoke surrounding them. And am HOPING it ends up bringing RobERTson back. IF those Byram and Peterka moves (or other) bring back a top 4 2 way/defensive D-man expect that Samuelsson also goes out the door. Sure seemed they were trying to figure out if Samuelsson could handle getting paired with Dahlin when the season was more or less officially toast. Based on Ruff's comments about the roster down the stretch don't believe he passed the test. Hoping a goalie gets brought in as well, but not overly hopeful about that.

Byram out for a legit top 4 solid 2 way or defensive D-man that's in or very close to his prime and a 1st makes sense IF that 1st (or the Sabres 1st) is going out the door with Peterka and a piece like Rosen (that ends up the LITTLE bit extra to make the trade happen) for Robertson. It's the ONLY way trading Byram for pieces makes sense if the goal is to make the Sabres better NOW.

Which is why, in addition to trying to snag Robertson (or someone else of that pedigree) they should be planning on bringing in another Zucker type (or 2). When THAT guy, or Zucker, is too long in the tooth, then hopefully Helenius will be ready to be a regular contributor on the 3rd line and an in a pinch contributor higher up the lineup.

No. Honestly don't believe that ownership realized just how unwatchable it would be. Don't believe Team Stormcloud that was calling for a tank long before it happened realized just how unwatchable it would be either for that matter. And ownership not understanding just what they'd unleashed is IMHO the reason why Regier doing EXACTLY what he'd said he'd do ended up getting himself canned. He literally did what he said he would and presumably upper management & ownership either made the call to burn it all down (far more likely IMHO) or at a minimum agreed with the plan to burn it all down (significantly less likely, but possible) which is why he was burning it down. Regier knew how bad it would be and tried to brace people for it. Personally don't believe the owners nor the Pittsburgh crew knew just how terrible it would be. But they found out pretty quickly. And pretty sure that's why Ruff was fired. They let him get away from the misery he saw coming and seemed to want no part of. They did a mercy Kervorkian on him because he would not pull the plug on his own. EDIT: But also, Regier knew that they'd need goaltending to come back up from the ashes. So he made the team in front of Miller so bad that even he couldn't do much to help them. But he didn't punt Miller. That was the next guy's doing.

And the crowds today are very comparable to the early season crowds in the late 90's/ early '00's. People forget, but Atlanta on a Wednesday or Thursday night in late October was NOT going to have more than about 12k in the building. Maybe not even that many. The corners of the 300's were absolutely devoid of fans and lower sections had significant fanless seasts as well. Regier promoted him to be the interim HC and then gave him the job outright without performing a legit coaching search. (Seems somewhat familiar ...)

There was nobody in the buliding immediately coming out of the COVID lockout (meaning the following full season; not the shortened one that they only sold handfuls of tix to). It would've been like that. That Rolston team was completely unwatchable and would've given the '74'75 Caps a good run for their money.

Regier's plan would defintiely have resulted in the playoffs by now had he been in charge of it. BUT Regier got punted because the team he iced in that first full tank year was unwatchable. Rolston was so completely out of his league when he wasn't just tweaking what Ruff was doing as a midseason breath of fresh air it wasn't even comical. Regier did what his boss wanted him to do. He set the team on a path to being the worst team in the league by far. They won 21 games that year with 7 of those wins coming in a SO. Even with the improvement in play by bringing in Nolan they still finished 14 points out of 29th in a 30 team league. There was no way they were going to let Regier run the 2nd year of the tank. They just couldn't. There wouldn't have been anybody in the building. Murray had a ton of flaws, but he worked the line during his portion of the tank in making sure they finished dead last while still being marginally watchable. Yes, they were. And IIRC the cringe worthy letter to STHers was sent in large part due to backlash from annoucing a price increase just before saying there will be "suffering."

Nope. That was said in a news conference. Might try to find that cringe worthy letter to STHers, but don't believe "suffering" was directly stated as such in it.

In and of itself. Absolutely. BUT IF either the pick you get back (preferably) or the Sabres pick along with, say, Peterka gets you Robertson AND something else useful comes back for Byram then it doesn't necessarsily have to be a rebuilding move. Unfortunately, Adams to date has not demonstrated an abilty to work multiple moves to alter the current roster's makeup without diminishing the current roster. So, maybe it ends up another friggin' rebuilding move. And realize (and have for a couple of months) that Byram is as good as gone, but absolutely hate that idea. We suffered all the Mittelstadt growing pains to bring in a high ceiling D that would be still suffering his own growing pains while a Sabre; and JUST when we finally get close to the point that he should start being the player he'll be in his prime, they trade him away. BTW, agree with those saying a late 1st is in no way commensurate with the value Byram SHOULD bring. There'd have to be another GOOD piece involved in that theoretical trade.

Yes, taxes in NYS, CA, and a few other places are crazily high. Insurance rates in NYS are significantly lower than in a place like FLA. Can't see this issue ever getting directly addressed because there is so much more than just taxes that go into the CoL in any particular location. Plus, the players on good teams can live wherever then want for 1/4 of the year; and the players on teams like Buffalo can live wherever they want for nearly 1/2 the year. Throw in travel days for road trips or during the AS break and they MIGHT even be able to declare they aren't NYS residents provided the team stays a cellar dweller which helps lower their NYS tax burden to a degree. (Maybe that'll be the next iteration of "palm trees;" come play for the Sabres, the tax burden is usually lower than for the guys playing on the Rags or Aisles. 😉 ) Expect there is a significantly greater possibility BF-LTIR get revised in the next CBA than tax effects on the SC get included. And don't honestly expect much, if anything, to be done regarding BF-LTIR. Most likely they'd add a stipulation that if a player has been on BF-LTIR for more than a certain threshold (1-1/2 months, 2 months, 3 months???) then the player has to be cleared from BF-LTIR for x days at the end of the regular season to be allowed to play in the post season. And teams within a couple of years will find ways to essentially circumvent even the minimal changes the league implements. So, do expect that technically they'll address BF-LTIR with the next CBA, but don't expect it to materially change anything that Vegas is already planning to do to work the system.

Well, Regier WAS a part of the organization at the time he declared there would be "suffering." Should have been fired on the spot but instead he started us down this road and wasn't canned until Rolston directed an absolutely unwatchable product on the ice.

Nah. THE worst was the one where Regier said there would be "suffering." He didn't lie; but we've been living with the aftermath of that decision for going on 15 years. Honorable mention, the one where Bryan Lewis explained why "no goal" was adjudicated properly. LIAR LIAR pants on fire.

Said it at the time, it was an interesting take to decide the problem they had in the final was that they weren't offensive enough as they let several of their defensively responsible players leave without any true replacements for them. Loved the McLeod deal when it was made and it likely will only get better. And it is possible the Eulers will rally and pull this out; but FLA has consistently gotten stronger as their series have gone on, so definitely wouldn't want a mortgage payment riding on it.

Well, they did tank to win multiple SCs. So it ... worked, ... , uh, riiiiiight? 🤔

The Sabres can't work those sort of deals anymore. They can't be the one giving away the better player. They need to be the one adding the sweeteners to get the better player.

TWICE!!! They repeated the Rex Ryan saga; but this time rather than choosing McDermott they went with Richie Kotite's younger brother who happened to have been working in the copier room.

Well, if the Eulers don't want to go out in 5 they're going to have to get back to playing their style of hockey. No way they're going to out Swamp Rat the Swamp Cats. Guess these guys listened to the talking heads that were saying they needed to give back what the Swamp Cats were giving them. They tried. Problem is, they seem to be REALLY bad at it. Not saying they shouldn't try to hit 'em, but they've got to knock out the cheap hits. Only a couple of their guys know how to try 'em and they got caught up into it and ended up getting caught like the rest of their teammates that tried. That was fun watching them get smoked for their own stupidity.

Went there for the ASG 2 years ago. The arena is way nicer than the MMArena but it is nothing special. It was a really fun weekend. The Swamp Cats and the NHL did a good job with it. MHO.

We will not agree on Chara. Most likely will let you have the last word on this as neither will change the other's opinion. 🍺

Actually, until he raised them up a tad, no, they weren't for a vast array of his opponents. Again, he learned very early on what the league would let him get away with and took full advantage of it. And popping guys in the head with an elbow is dirty.

It could be. It also will be REAL interesting to see how long their dominance lasts. Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic came along at just the right time to capitalize on improvements to training and equipment to stay at absolute top form for far longer than any other dominant players on the men's side. Now that their machines are pretty much out of the picture (though Djokovic hasn't yet fully given up the ghost) wonder just how long these 2 can continue to divvy up the tennis world between them (and maybe 1 more as, unlike with Sith Lords, always there are 3 seems to be SOP). (Disclaimer: don't follow tennis all that closely, so if one of you that do follow the sport closely want to say that Roger, Rafa, and Novak didn't dominate all that long, well as Emily Lutella used to say "nevermind." Though, personally, believe that having the 3 of them dominate the sport for over 20 years is in fact unprecedented in the modern era.)